Paul Adams says he will not testify against former Proteas teammate and current South Africa coach Mark Boucher at his upcoming disciplinary hearing relating to the Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) hearings.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) has appointed advocate Terry Motau to chair the disciplinary hearing into the conduct of Boucher, who was fingered in the final SJN report. The hearing will be from May 16-19.
Boucher was strongly criticised in the final SJN report for calling Adams, “Brown Sh*t,” as part of a team song when the pair were in the SA side in the late 1990s.
However, Adams says he doesn’t want to be “the main focus of attention” during Boucher’s disciplinary hearing and that it wasn’t his “intention to single Mark Boucher out” as one of the players who sang the song.
In a statement released online, Adams, who begins by saying that he “went to SJN with no malice but with good intentions says”, adds: “In my testimony, I said that during my time in the national team there was a culture within that environment that felt it was fine for a derogatory nickname given to me to be sung during fines meetings in the changing room by my fellow teammates.
“I indicated, upon reflection and after discussing with my wife (my girlfriend at the time) that I felt humiliated by the song. Not at any stage did I mention any players’ name who may have initiated the song.
PAUL ADAMS MEDIA STATEMENT pic.twitter.com/MdDVYFapyq
— Paul Adams (@PaulAdams39) May 8, 2022
“The only time I confirmed a name, was when the panel asked if I addressed Mark Boucher personally regarding the nickname and I replied that he was part of a broader group that sang the song and that I never addressed the matter within the team environment at the time. I was young and naïve at the time, trying to fit in and represent my country as best I could.
“Not at any stage did I go in there with the intention to single Mark Boucher out as one can confirm by listening to my testimony in the YouTube clip from 39:20 till 46:30.
“It is not my job or desire to find Mark Boucher guilty or not guilty, and to be cross-examined and turned into the main focus of attention. Therefore I will not be testifying at Mark Boucher’s upcoming disciplinary hearing…”